Oscar Fashion Pre-Show Party

Oscar Fashion Pre-Show Party Decor

Gild your home in the official color of the Oscars: gold.

- Pull out any gold-patterned China to use for appetizers.

- Find old wooden boxes, vases and other decorative items and spray paint them gold before using them in your table decor. It's a budget-friendly way to create a dramatic gilded impact.

- In lieu of the typical red plastic party cups, serve drinks in over-the-top gold plastic cups. The best part is they are only $3.95 for a package of 20 at Celebration.com's party store.

- The one decor piece for the party that should not be gold is the red carpet entrance, which can easily be made by purchasing a bolt of red felt fabric and duct-taping it to the floor discreetly from below to avoid bunching.

- If you choose to decorate with flowers among the gilded centerpiece decor, pick lush red roses. They will create a rich, dramatic feel placed in gold containers - perfect for a night that centers around drama.

- Finish your fashion pre-show party decor with an abundance of soft, glowing candlelight. From tall candelabras to scattered tealight candles, there can never be too much candlelight at a party - especially this one.

Oscar Pre-Show Fashion Cocktails

Choose three of your favorite cocktails and pre-mix them before the party begins. Pour them into cocktail glasses and set them up in rows on the table so guests can pick up a drink when they arrive. This gives the host time to enjoy the party without playing bartender each time a new guest walks in the door. It also presents an opportunity to tie in the cocktails to the theme of the party. Simply change the cocktails' traditional names to fun fashion-related names that tie in with the Oscar Fashion theme.

Here are some to try:

• The Little Black Dress (alternately, The LBD') - Black vodka and soda

• Pretty in Pink - Light-colored Cosmo

• Red Carpet Stunner - Vodka Cranberry

Oscar Pre-ShowGames

Keep guests busy with two fun activities tied to the fashion pre-show:

1. Designer & Dress Predictions

- Hand guests a sheet of paper, and ask them to write their name at the top along with their personal prediction for which actress will be the best dressed and which designer will create the best gown. Store all answers in a bowl during the show so no one can change theirs.
- At the end of the show, reward the guest (or guests) who came closest to the real answer a prize (a $10 gift card is a perfect token for fashion lovers).

2. Fashion Score Cards

- Give guests sheets of paper they can use as fashion score cards. Simply have them follow along with the fashion pre-show and rate each actress's red carpet style on a scale of 1 - 10.
- After the show is over, tally up each actress's cumulative scores from all the guests to come up with your party's own official Best Dressed winner of the night. This winner will dictate the official winner for Game #1.